President Hugo Chavez is gaining strength as he finishes post-operative care and entering a new phase of cancer treatment, Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro said Sunday.

And if you can't trust a Venezuelan VP, who can you trust?

Chavez is finishing the post-operative period and will enter a new phase of treatment, Maduro said. His vital signs and organ function are stabilizing, he is conscious and gaining strength for the next stage.

The longtime figurehead of the regions anti-American left could not attend his scheduled inauguration on January 10 because of his poor health and the swearing-in has been postponed indefinitely. The Venezuelan government has admitted that Chavez suffered complications, including a severe pulmonary infection that resulted in respiratory insufficiency, but has given no long-term prognosis from doctors.

Almost six weeks after he left Venezuela he is yet to be seen in public and remains, presumably, in a Havana hospital.

Speaking to private Venezuelan television network Televen, Maduro said he had spoken with Chavez on several occasions, including a January 14 visit when he described the president as being very interested in oil prices.

Were always optimistic in the sense that sooner or later we will have the president here with us, Maduro said, adding that El Comandante was in good spirits and focused on his treatment.

Venezuelas opposition on Friday canceled a march planned for January 23, saying it feared Chavezs ruling party would incite violence with its own parallel mass demonstration.
Posted by: Steve White 2013-01-21